A/N: A little one-shot for the holidays. This had nothing to do with my current story "Tradition". Just for fluff. Hope you enjoy it. :) Happy Holidays!

This Lurlinemas

By 18lzytwner

Elphaba stood at the windows of the small home that she and Fiyero had built on the edge of the Ozian border, deep in the forest where hardly a man roamed. In fact the most traffic they saw by the house were the Animals who had escaped Oz as well. They all looked out for each other and it felt safe; much safer than the first night they had reached the wood.

They'd been travelling by night for three days, avoiding main roads and well beaten paths until they reached the woods on the third night, near dawn. Needing a place to hide, they ducked into a cave just as the sun was coming up. Moving deeper inside so as not to be seen from the entrance, they had inadvertently woken the cave's inhabitants. Needless to say, Norman, the papa Bear, was not pleased and it wasn't until he realized just whom he stood in front of, did the situation diffuse. He quickly apologized for ripping Scarecrow Fiyero in half and both he and Elphaba scooped up the pieces and headed for the kitchen, while Fiyero felt utterly embarrassed.

Norman had a family and Susan, the mama bear, quickly went about getting Fiyero back together while he cooked breakfast for the family and their guests. Once back together, Fiyero thanked the bear profusely for her help to which she had replied that her husband should be the one thanking Elphaba for not ripping him a new one. They all had a laugh and then shared a meal together with the family's two cubs, Nihi and Sasha. Then Elphaba was offered a place to sleep while Fiyero promised to help out around the cave.

Since then they had been the best of friends and as other Animals trickled into the woods, hiding from the Ozians, they all worked to create a little community of sorts. Now as winter had fallen upon them and most had bedded down for the night, Elphaba stood at the windows, watching, waiting, wondering what was taking Fiyero so long.

She had been cooking almost all day, trying to get a nice meal together for the holiday. This would be her first Lurlinemas away from Munchkinland. Not that Lurlinemas had been fun when she had gone home. After the death of her mother, the only reason they celebrated was because it was another opportunity for Frex to shower his beloved Nessa with gifts; to once again show Elphaba that she was not worthy of praise for being the best girl she could be nor gifts. She was fairly certain that if Nessa hadn't begged Frex to allow Elphaba to escort her home that she would have been left at Shiz, while a servant picked up her sister.

Needless to say, the day had escaped her and soon she realized that she was almost cooking in the dark. She lit the lanterns in the kitchen and made sure the fire in the living room was still going. Then she pasted herself to the windows, watching to see if her beloved was on his way while her magic made sure the food didn't overcook and make a mess on the stove.

Fiyero had left three days prior. Supplies were running low he had said and he knew that if they got more snow that it would be very hard to get out of the home and head to the village that was about a day's walk away. It wasn't odd for him to be gone for that long, as he was selling their wares which he pulled in a cart behind him like a horse. They didn't have a horse and Elphaba wished he would let her enchant the cart so it would feel like it weighed practically nothing. Fiyero refused, often telling her that if someone in the village bumped it and they noticed something off, he'd never come home, having been arrested for sorcery. Still firewood was heavy and he could hurt himself, so she enchanted him when he wasn't looking so he could lift and move more easily. She would go with him but they both feared her skin would give her away. She had been trying out new spells to see if she could mask her appearance but so far she'd been unable to find the right one. It had been by luck alone that she had transformed Fiyero back into a man.

She had copied down the spell that had turned him into a Scarecrow, into her diary along with a few other spells before handing the Grimmerie off to Glinda. Madam Morrible had said that the spells inside the book were irreversible but it turned out they weren't if you knew how to read them. Since she was the only one who could, she quickly discovered, once she'd had some time to read, that if the spells were spoken backwards, they would reverse. Miss a word and the consequences would be dire.

Fiyero had relished being human again and he used every opportunity he could to show his thanks for her ability to bring back his humanity. It had been part of the reason Elphaba had created such an elaborate meal. She had some news she needed to tell him.

Her eyes grew wide as someone finally came into view. However, so did the hair on the back of her neck. A man sat on a cart, which was obviously being pulled by a horse. Something deep down made her incredibly nervous. The lantern he had on the seat next to him lit the darkened woods and as he grew closer, she suddenly realized that she had nothing to fear. Pushing her feet into her boots, after flinging her slippers off, she grabbed her coat and flung it on.

"Fiyero!" She exclaimed as the horse came to a stop.

"Fae! You shouldn't be outside, it's freaking cold out here," he said, hopping down from the cart.

"How did you…" she didn't get a chance to finish as Fiyero pulled her in close and kissed her.

"Merry Lurlinemas," he smiled after pulling back and gesturing toward the horse.

"He's beautiful but how did we afford him?" Elphaba wanted to know.

"I opened a bank account and I've been squirrelling away some of the proceeds from the baked goods, candles, and firewood. I thought he'd be a nice surprise, along with what he is pulling," Fiyero winked and then grabbed the reins, pulling the horse near the door and showing off the beautiful little Lurlinemas tree in the cart along with the rest of the supplies. Though they were surrounded by trees in the forest, they were all twenty feet high and none grew on the forest floor, suitable for fitting inside their home.

"A tree and supplies? How much money were we really making?" She gave him an incredulous look.

"Well it helps that I won some of it in a marksmanship contest. That's why I'm late," he admitted. She gave him a look but then quickly helped him unload the cart.

"What is our horse's name and where will he be staying?" She asked after the supplies and the tree were in the house.

"His name is Samson. He'll be staying outside in a little something else I've been working on," Fiyero smirked and Elphaba raised an eyebrow. He led her back outside and then took the reins as he led Samson to his new home. Out behind the house, they had built a shed for extra storage. Next to it was a stack of firewood that they kept for themselves. Fiyero stood next to the pile and then ripped off the face of the wood pile. Elphaba's confusion was not well concealed as what had appeared to be a wood pile was in fact a small stable for the horse, roughly the same size as the shed.

"How in Oz…" she started.

"You're not the only one with a bit of magic. Susan and her sewing club helped me make the tarp. Norman and the guys helped me build it while you were off helping the Morris's over the hill," Fiyero smiled.

"So very sneaky!" She said.

"I try," he winked before detaching the cart from Samson and leading him into his home. Throwing a blanket onto the horse so he could stay warm, Fiyero then closed the bottom portions of the stable doors. Then he pulled the cart over next to the shed and deposited it.

"Will he be warm enough?" She asked.

"Way ahead of you," Fiyero smiled and moved over to the side of the stable which had stones built into the wall. On the outside was a pit with a grate across it and a grate on top of the pit. He swung the grate open, put some firewood in it and lit the wood.

"The stones will radiate heat once they are heated up and the fire can't spread outside the grate because the pitch will stay inside the pit. All I have to do is keep the pitch in there and keep the wood one there and he'll be nice and toasty. Speaking of toasty, I'm starving and that house smelled good," Fiyero told her.

"Good because I cooked us a Lurlinemas feast," she smiled. They both said goodnight to Samson and headed inside.

After consuming the delicious meal, they both retired to the living room to decorate the tree. While Fiyero had been gone, Elphaba had spent her time making little wooden ornaments out of scraps of twigs, bark, and wood. She had decided that even if they wouldn't have a tree, they could still decorate. The green woman had surprised even herself for all the arts and crafts she had taken up since owning a home with her beloved. Though she still often used her magic to help cook, she found that she enjoyed working with her hands.

Fiyero jarred her from her thoughts as he had yet another surprise, which he pulled from his coat pocket.

"I saw this and couldn't stop myself," he said, handing her a small package that was wrapped in a couple of small cloths. Elphaba carefully unwrapped it and she smiled at the ornament she found inside.

"Turtledoves. Oh Fiyero," she beamed.

"I knew you would like it," he said.

"You've showered me with so many gifts. All I did was cook dinner," she said, suddenly feeling as though she'd let him down.

"All you did was cook dinner? Fae, you cleaned the house, made the food, and made ornaments. Not to mention that stack of candles that I saw in the pantry. You are keeping us together. All I need is you," he smiled before pulling her in for a kiss. He felt her hesitance however, and pulled back, confusion spread across his face.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I…" she wasn't exactly sure how to broach the subject considering her feelings. She was an all-powerful witch who had suddenly become a housewife. There was a time where she would have found that unfathomable and detestable but now… her mixed feelings were showing and Fiyero tried again.

"I know this is your first real Lurlinemas and I know that without your sister or Glinda, it's hard but you have nothing to worry about. This is one of the best Lurlinemasses I've ever had," he said.

"What if it isn't just me anymore?" She asked.

"Isn't just you?" Again confusion. She loved him but sometimes she wondered about that brain of his.

"I've missed Aunt Rosie twice when she was supposed to come for a visit," she was blunt this time, hoping he'd catch the drift.

"You mean…" the lightbulb went on.

"I'm pregnant," the words tumbled out of her mouth and he scooped her up into his arms. He was ecstatic and seeing that cause Elphaba to smile. She had been nervous. How was she supposed to raise a child? What if he or she was green? All that melted away for the moment as Fiyero kissed her soundly.

"Best Lurlinemas ever. I love you," he said.

"I love you too," she said. He pulled her in for another kiss before wandering off toward the bedroom.

The End